Sydney are seriously struggling this season and sit second last on the NRL Ladder, last week giving them a bit of respite from the pain with a bye. They return in Thursday Night Football hosting the Bulldogs who are the sixth-ranked team in the comp after their 40 – 14 thrashing of the Broncos last Saturday. The Roosters aren’t at as long odds as you might expect however as they have a strong four-from-four record over Canterbury in recent times against the club.

Friday night sees the former ladder-leading Brisbane outfit try to atone for that embarrassing loss to Canterbury in a NRL Blockbuster against the Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium. State of Origin has hit the Broncos hard this year and they have enjoyed just one win from their last five played, and two from the last seven.

Melbourne meanwhile are a steady second on the ladder and back-up from a Sunday win defeating the Tigers 29 – 20. Also in the Storm’s favour to score an upset here is the fact Brisbane haven’t beaten the club at this venue since 2009! That said, the Broncos hare 10-from-14 at home as favourites so the old Lang Park advantage could be enough to get them back into winning form.

The first of the three Saturday games has the Warriors (11th) short-priced favourites in NRL betting to defeat the Titans (10th) in New Zealand after losing for the first time in four games played at the hands of the Sharks last week, before the Tigers host the eight-placed Panthers at ANZ Stadium with Penrith looking to post their third in on the trot.

Also on Saturday night one of the round’s biggest clashes has the top-ranked Sharks taking on the fourth-placed Eels. Cronulla get home game advantage and are looking to make it 12 consecutive wins. Parramatta meanwhile hit the headlines all week for the wrong reasons, namely the troubled Kieran Foran being stripped of captaincy.

Sunday afternoon the action moves down to chilly Canberra where the raiders are at an unbackably short price to keep giving it to the Newcastle Knights who pay almost $10 to post just their second win of the season.

The third-ranked North Queensland Cowboys then head to Barlow Park in Cairns, which they’ll love, to take on the Bunnies after a close call against Manly when just holding out the Sea Eagles 30 – 26 in Monday night footy last round.

Things come to a close with this round’s Monday clash between the Sea Eagles who enjoy the seven-day turnaround and the Dragons who will have a tougher time after the easy win over Newcastle last Saturday.

See below for the full NRL Round 17 draw, odds and our insider NRL footy tips for you to lock in at Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Footy Freaks and the best all-in NRL Premiership betting!